Effect of roost choice on winter torpor patterns of a free-ranging insectivorous bat
Clare Stawski A C and Shannon E. Currie A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
B Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 6997801, Israel.
C Corresponding author. Email: cstawsk2@une.edu.au
Australian Journal of Zoology 64(2) 132-137 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO16030
Submitted: 21 April 2016 Accepted: 6 July 2016 Published: 28 July 2016
Abstract
Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) is one of only three native Australian mammals with an Australia-wide distribution. However, currently no data are available on the thermal physiology of free-ranging C. gouldii. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the effect of roost choice on daily skin temperature fluctuations during winter in C. gouldii living in an agricultural landscape in a temperate region. Ambient conditions consisted of long periods below 0°C and snow. Some individuals roosted high in dead branches whereas one individual roosted in a large cavity located low in a live tree. Torpor was employed on every day of the study period by all bats, with bouts lasting for over five days. The skin temperature of individuals in the dead branches tracked ambient temperature, with skin temperatures below 3°C on 67% of bat-days (lowest recorded –0.2°C). In contrast, the individual in the tree cavity maintained a larger skin-ambient temperature differential, likely influenced by the internal cavity temperature. Our study presents the lowest skin temperature recorded for a free-ranging Australian microbat and reveals that roost choice affects the thermal physiology of C. gouldii, ensuring survival during periods of cold weather and limited food supply.
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